Welcome to CornerSpotter, Curbed's regular game in which you, fair readers, consult archival streetscape photos or postcard illustrations to identify the building(s) and/or location presented. Time to tap that reservoir of urban minutiae and flaunt it before your fellow readers. Fire away in the comments, and we'll reveal the correct identity and backstory tomorrow.
The pre-Fire building at right dates to the early 1860s, as does its primary occupant. The anchor business grew steadily in the 1860s in direct relation to the Civil War. A pioneering example for its industry, it survived a series of mergers beginning in 1900 and also weathered the Great Depression. Variations of the business' original name carried on until completely blotted out in a 1998 merger. The occupant's fortunes were not linked to its grand downtown edifice, however, as the Fire erased the building a few years after completion. Alright people, time to name that building and its location.
·Cornerspotter [Curbed Chicago]
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